More than 30 people were killed and at least 20 others injured in a bomb explosion in eastern Congo after a confrontation between the Congolese army and a pro-government militia, despite a recently signed peace deal being hailed as a significant step towards stability, news agency AP reported.

Residents and civil society representatives told AP that soldiers of the FARDC (the Congolese army) and members of Wazalendo, a militia group that has been supporting the army against insurgents, exchanged fire before an explosion rocked Sange town in South Kivu on Sunday evening.